Initiate Interrogation Sequence
by snowseph
Summary: When Sol Badguy, Ky Kiske, Sin Kiske and Elphelt Valentine successfully manage to detain Ramlethal Valentine, Ky calls for an interrogator to gain information on the Valentines. However, rather than putting the assignment in the hands of his son, Sin, Ky summoned a notable interrogator of his own...


Initiate Interrogation Sequence

"Y-Your Majesty! I-It's Ramlethal!"

One of the swordsman aboard the flying airship burst into the doorway, interrupting a conversation between Sol Badguy, Ky Kiske, Sin Kiske, and Elphelt Valentine about the plan the Valentines have with the Conclave. The person he was referencing, Ramlethal Valentine, was held within the airship, but it was easily deducted from the way he entered that something was wrong. The attention turned to the swordsman, and everyone, with Ky in the lead, ran down the hallway to the room that she was being held in. Ky tackled the door clean open.

"What's going on!?" Ky exclaimed, assessing the situation. In the room, two Opus Heavyguards lie on the floor, defeated, and the large restraints that held Ramlethal were destroyed. She stood between the two guards, taking a look at the room before directing her attention to Ky, as well as Sol, who rushed in the room after him.

"You called those restraints…?" She said, dusting her clothes off. "You should have done your research."

"You really wanna pick a fight with us? Now!?" Sol asked, with his reverse-grip sword entitled "Junkyard Dog" in his left hand. Ramlethal took a step forward to them.

"No. There is no need to fight," she said sternly.

"What?" Sol said. Ramlethal lifted her open hand up and outstretched, eyeing the two with her amber-colored eyes.

"We're currently thirty-four thousand feet up. If this ship goes down, I doubt anyone will survive." In her outstretched hand, Ramlethal charged a particle of energy, just enough to vaporize a good chunk of the ship's hull. Ky took a small step back.

"No… She's attacking the ship!" He said. But just as Ramlethal was going to unleash her power, the energy faded away.

"…Huh?" Ramlethal looked confused, staring past Sol and Ky. Standing beside the two was Elphelt, her hand stretched out to Ramlethal. She was nullifying her powers.

"There's no point," Elphelt said. "As long as I'm here, Ram, you won't be able to use your powers." Ramlethal's hand slowly dropped back down to her side, and tilting her head slightly, she stared at Elphelt.

"El… Why did you betray me?" Ramlethal asked.

"Why do you want to exterminate humanity?" Elphelt shot back at her. Ramlethal was silent for merely a moment.

"I don't understand the question," she finally replied. Elphelt put her hands on her own chest, flashing a sad look at her sister.

"You have emotions too, don't you? Isn't… Isn't our mission horrifying!?" Ramlethal looked to the floor before picking her head back up again.

"It's not." Elphelt gasped slightly at her cold response. "And I don't have emotions," Ramlethal continued. "A tool doesn't need emotions. Are you not proud to be one of Mother's tools?" She closed her eyes and tilted her head downwards slightly. "I don't understand. Mother… Why did you create her? Or… Am I the one who has failed to fulfill my role?"

"Hey!" Sol piped up. "We're asking the questions here!"

"And I'm not answering them," Ramlethal quickly fired back. Sol lifted his weapon up slightly, flexing his arm.

"Fine," he shrugged. "You can die instead."

"My mission has been completed," Ramlethal said. Her voice seemed to be uncaring, insensible of her own will. "I have no further purpose. Kill me if you want."

"Heh, now we're talking," Sol said, cracking his neck in preparation as he strongly put his right foot forward.

"…Sol," Ky whispered, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You're not doing us any good here, stand down. We'll need to see how this plays out." Sol relaxed his muscles, gritting his teeth.

"We don't have time to sit on our hands, kid," Sol replied, loosening his grip on his weapon. Ky sighed.

"Perhaps, but the way you're handling this could ruin everything. I need to get a proper interrogator in here…"

"Hmph. Suit yourself," Sol said.

 _12 Hours Later…_

Ky, waiting in the docking bay alone, had just expected a small airship to arrive. As it docked and landed with the main ship, one person emerged from within. The two left the docking bay, heading up the hallway and leading to the interrogation room that Ramlethal was being held in. Standing outside of the doorway already was Sol.

"Yes, this is the room," Ky said, gesturing to it. The interrogator that followed behind stood close.

"This is the person you chose to be the interrogator?" Sol shrugged. "You must be joking."

"No need to be rude, Sol," Ky chastised. "Our interrogator here will actually be giving us an edge. If Ramlethal truly is emotionless, then we will need to reveal her to someone that is—or rather, used to be—the same. We may be able to gain more information if we have two minds that think alike."

"So, you think this girl's going to cut it? Maybe we'd get more done if I beat the answers out of her." Sol clenched his fist. Ky shook his head. From behind, Sin ran up, skidding through the hallway with his weapon, a rolled-up war flag named "Oath."

"Hey, old man!" Sin exclaimed. "You ready to show me some of those techniques or what?" Sol turned around, a small smirk spreading across his face.

"Finally, some action to tide me over." Sol cracked his neck, throwing his "Junkyard Dog" over his shoulder. "It's about damn time." He followed Sin down the hallway, with Sin leading the way, bragging about how much stronger he's gotten. Ky shook his head.

"I really do fear for his future sometimes…" He thought. "Anyway, you may proceed when ready. I must meet in my quarters to speak with the president. Feel free to contact us through the magic comms if you need assistance."

"…Understood," the interrogator replied with a gentle nod. Ky nodded back and turned around, taking his leave down the hallway.

Opening the door led to the room that Ramlethal was originally confined in. The restraints were gone, as well as the bodies of the guards. The only thing that remained was a single, solitary chair that Ramlethal sat in, hugging her knees. There was a bed in the corner, untouched. Ramlethal looked down at the floor, but slowly lifted her head up to meet with the interrogator. Upon closing the door, there was another chair behind it, which the interrogator grabbed and set in front of Ramlethal, sitting in it with her hands in her lap.

They were silent for a brief moment, until the blonde-haired interrogator finally spoke.

"Ramlethal Valentine," she said. Ramlethal's face was unchanging.

"Who are you?" Ramlethal asked. Her interrogator looked straight at her with her blue eyes.

"My name is Es," her interrogator said. "Es Mitsurugi. I've been summoned here by the King of Illyria, Ky Kiske, to meet with you."

"...Whatever information you're here to gather from me," Ramlethal breathed, "it is a moot point. My mission has already been accomplished, and..."

"That is not why I am here," Es stated, quickly cutting off Ramlethal. "My purpose for being here is more than just to discuss 'your mission,' which was already provided to me by an Elphelt Valentine."

"El..." Ramlethal, for once in a long time, paused for a moment. "Then, why are you here?" Es nodded slowly at the question.

"I am here to wake you up."

That sentence alone was enough to confuse Ramlethal, and she tilted her head. Es extended her hand out towards her. Ramlethal stared at the hand, as if she was supposed to reach out and touch her own hand with it. Instead, she merely disregarded the hand.

"I do not understand," Ramlethal said. "I am already awake, and the time is only 1420 hours. There is not a time to rest, as it is the middle of the day." Es sighed.

"That's not what I meant..." Es looked down at her lap before placing her hand on her own chest. "I mean from within. Your emotions."

"But... A tool like me doesn't have..." Es looked back up at her, as Ramlethal had done the same. Her words trailed off as she knew Es was going to say something. And although it wasn't like her to listen, she could relate to this person.

"I was once like you. A tool. Someone who could not even fathom emotions, and only the mission was all I cared about." She clenched her hand into a fist in her chest. "...But I lacked understanding towards humans, to the point where I would kill allies to accomplish my mission." Ramlethal closed her eyes.

"If you have to kill your allies to accomplish your mission, then they were merely obstacles to begin with. I do not see how you were at fault." Ramlethal sat up normally.

"I thought the same thing, once." Es couldn't help but smile for a moment. "But believe it or not, even a machine like me had retainers that I could rely on. It gave me the strength to realize that even I was unerringly stubborn."

"What good would emotions do...?" Ramlethal said, looking down at the floor. "They seem like they would get in the way. Look at these humans, clinging onto their lives because of such trivial things... Mother knew what she was doing when she created me." Es wasn't sure what Ramlethal meant by "Mother," but she was sure that she was hardly getting anywhere. Ramlethal was tougher to crack than expected.

So, as a last-ditch effort, Es stretched out her hand again, and using magic that she inherited from a certain confectionary chef, she summoned a cup. With a single finger, the flipped the cap off, revealing its contents: sweet, sweet pudding.

"Touya always told me that the quickest way to a person's heart is through their stomach, metaphorically speaking," Es said. "What it means, is that I'm going to get to your emotions with this, my favorite food." She pulled out a spoon from seemingly out of nowhere, and stabbed the pudding with it, taking a scoop of the deliciousness and offering it to Ramlethal.

"Very well. If I try this... Whatever this is, will you leave?" Ramlethal asked. Without a response of any kind, Es urged the pudding to Ramlethal's mouth. Moving her hair aside, Ramlethal leaned in close, slowly opening her mouth to try the pudding as she wrapped her lips around it. She took the whole spoonful, sitting back in her chair with her eyes closed as she savored the flavor.

Her eyes opened—wide—and her mouth was nearly gaping as she swallowed the pudding. It was as if the whole entire room exploded as the flavor came and hit her full circle. As reality set in, she inhaled and exhaled sharply.

"Well?" Es said, goading for a response. "Please describe the flavor." Ramlethal licked her upper lip as there was some stray pudding there. She looked down and closed her eyes again, staring at the pudding container that Es had in her lap.

"In an attempt to gain a proper response," Ramlethal said, "I am prepared to give you an unbiased opinion about the flavors of this pudding, although, my responses may be conflicting and may not come out right—"

"Well," Es said, accidentally interrupting Ramlethal, "perhaps you could describe it to me in one word."

Ramlethal looked up at Es. She tilted her head and although her eyes drifted off at first, they had their full attention at Es' azure eyes. The flavor still filled her mouth, and as a result, she couldn't help but smile.

"...Sweet."

 _34 minutes later..._

Es left the room, leaving Ramlethal in there on her own. At the same time she left the room, Ky approached her as he just finished his conversation with President Vernon, the most recent President of the United States.

"Ah, Ms. Mitsurugi," Ky stated. "How went the interrogation?" Es nodded. She walked with Ky away from the interrogation room as to not discuss it much in close proximity with Ramlethal.

"I'm getting her to open up a bit more. She has not cracked yet, but, I am starting to tap into her emotions." Ky nodded at the response. "She was also mentioning something about a Cradle, and how it was used to decimate Babylon before leaving."

"President Vernon and I were just discussing that. The Conclave is a part of it... In short, the Conclave is run by various powerful people, who use it to seek a new world order."

"So, just like the Novus Orbis Librarium..." Es muttered to herself. "Understood, Ky. I'm giving her a brief reprieve to rest so that we may continue your conversation."

"Any other important news to hear?" Ky asked. Es couldn't help but giggle to herself.

"...She really likes pudding," she faintly replied.

 _The following day…_

Ramlethal had moved her chair to face the window. She could view a sea of clouds from just the window alone. It did not, however, excite her in any way. Instead, she just stared out as a way to pass time. As she could see the clouds however, she thought about the conversation from yesterday. The pudding that she had was indescribable for her, as she had only felt that exciting rush when fighting Sol… Except, this time, she felt more glad than malicious.

"Could it be," she thought to herself, "that's what emotions truly feel like…?" She looked down at her lap. Her train of thought was instantly broken however, by the sound of knocking at her door.

"It's me," Es said, on the other side of the door. "I'm coming in."

"It seems strange that she can come back again so easily…" Ramlethal thought. "Their level of security seems inadequate, honestly."

As Es entered the room, Ramlethal had fixed her chair back to the center of the room, with Es grabbing her chair from yesterday and positioning it to face her. Rather than arriving with pudding, like last time, Es arrived with something different. It appeared to be a dog, a small puppy, to be precise.

"What… Is that?" Ramlethal asked. She started at the animal curiously. Es picked it up off of her lap, facing it towards Ramlethal.

"Apparently, this creature is called a Magehound," Es explained. "It does not require sustenance, nor does it need to generate excrements of any kind. In a sense, it's what one would call, 'low-maintenance.'" The magehound barked happily at Ramlethal, but she simply narrowed her eyes at it.

"Ugh. It's annoying," Ramlethal remarked. "Get it away."

"Aww, don't be that way," Es smiled. She seemed to be speaking a bit differently; something unlike the robotic tone that Ramlethal held with her. "Here," she said, holding the dog out to her. "Try to play with it for a bit."

Ramlethal lazily extended her finger out to it, and with the cutest expression ever, the magehound bit down on Ramlethal's finger.

"Ow."

Of course, it wasn't hard enough to really cause any pain or draw any blood, but the dog definitely had sharp teeth. Es couldn't stop smiling nonetheless.

"As I've grown familiar with the people aboard this ship, they've granted me permission to visit you as often as I'm able." Es set the dog in Ramlethal's lap. "Sol and Ky seem to be having a discussion in regards to somebody in a country called Zepp, and as that's happening, this should give us some time to freely continue our talk."

"Ow." The dog bit Ramlethal's finger again. "Couldn't you have gone with them and left me alone?"

"It would be counter-productive," Es said, "as I wouldn't have been much help. I am unfamiliar with the surroundings, after all…"

"So, you're here to prod my emotions again, aren't yo—ow." Ramlethal kept a fixed expression at Es, despite the dog casually biting her finger.

"Well, not entirely—" Es tried to continue under her breath, but Ramlethal briefly interrupted her.

"Pointless. I don't have any emotions, but if showing some is what it takes to make you leave, then fine."

Ramlethal covered her face with her single hand for a moment, and by removing it, her eyes grew wide and her pupils became small glints of amber. A shark-like smile spread across her face, with shark-like teeth to match. Es didn't seem too fazed by it, but she cleared her throat to defray the small hint of nervousness she felt.

"That's not really what I meant…" Es faked a smile. "Something like _this_ , right?"

"This is ridiculous," Ramlethal thought, her eerie smile fading back to her regular face. "Tools don't need emotions—ow."

"Well, if you don't want to try that, we do have alternative options. Leave it to me."

Time passed, and Es, alongside of some help from Sin, brought a table into Ramlethal's room. As prepared as she was, Es had managed to fill the table with sweets of varying kinds, including cake slices, candy, and more importantly, pudding. Ramlethal stared at the table full of sweets, but paid no mind to them. Meanwhile, Es casually ate the pudding exclusively, Sin ate…everything else, and even the magehound had a cookie in its mouth. Ramlethal, despite her experience with pudding previously, ignored all of the sweets at the table.

As that didn't work, Es figured she could try to introduce her to sightseeing, other than watching the dull clouds Ramlethal was looking at previously. As evening set in, the airship was over a glistening ocean of water, travelling beneath the clouds. Es, joined by Elphelt, stared out the window as the sun set beyond the horizon. A flock of birds had flown alongside the airship, and Elphelt couldn't contain her excitement. Ramlethal had her chair positioned in the corner of the room, away from the window, not wanting to see it at all.

In another attempt, Sin brought playing cards and challenged both Es and Ramlethal to poker. While Es wasn't entirely familiar with it, she was willing to give it a try, and she dragged Ramlethal along. About a few minutes in, and after multiple hands have been dealt, Ramlethal never bothered to look at her cards. Es was winning, Sin was struggling with his chips but Ramlethal had the same amount. But, much to Es and Sin's excitement, on her final hand when it was time to reveal her cards, Ramlethal went to pick up the cards, only to have them taken by her magehound in one swoop. The hound flipped them over, and it turned out that it had the winning hand.

"The hell!?" Sin exclaimed. "Beaten by a dog… Old man's gonna kick my ass." He pushed all of his chips to Ramlethal, and Es did the same for her chips, with a smile on her face. Ramlethal's face, however, was unchanging.

Winding down, it had become dark outside, and the airship had returned above the clouds. Es, with Ramlethal close by, had their chairs facing out the window. The huge moon was their only light, and they stared out at it for a while. The stars twinkled, but their shine was dim compared to the moon.

"Well, Ramlethal?" Es said. "How did you enjoy your day?" Ramlethal blinked, but didn't have much of a response. She wasn't sure what to feel. It hit her all at once, after all.

"Enjoy…?" Ramlethal only had that to say. "I'm not sure if I could use that word." Es's smile seemed to dwindle as she turned her attention back to the moon. "However," Ramlethal continued, with Es looking back at her, "it was…different." Es nodded at her response.

"That's acceptable," she remarked. "As long as it was anything other than 'torture,' I'm glad we could dedicate this day to at least try and make you smile." Ramlethal's attention to the moon faded. She, instead, looked at Es, who had smiled brightly at the moon shining down on her.

"Es…" Ramlethal let her name escape from her parted lips. But she wasn't sure what to say. She didn't know what she was feeling. It was strange… It reminded her from when Es first showed up. The same excitement welled up inside of her.

"Well, it is late," Es said, standing up with her chair. "I must let you rest for now. We will be arriving at Zepp tomorrow and Mr. Kiske wanted me to up early to carry out something for him, just for the time being. Then I can come back."

"So, you are going to Zepp…?" Ramlethal thought. "…So much for being counter-productive." Es made her way to the door, turning back to face Ramlethal before shutting it.

"Good night," she said. Ramlethal didn't reply, but Es knew she meant well. She shut the door shortly after.

"…Good night," she muttered to herself, out of Es's hearing range. For the first time in a while, Ramlethal left her chair and went to her bed, and the covers seemed unkempt. Pulling them off, she could see that her magehound had crawled into bed and had fallen asleep. Rather than moving it aside, however, she covered it back up and returned to her chair. "...And you, too," she whispered with a small smirk.

 _The following day…_

"Your Majesty, we will be arriving at Zepp momentarily," one of Ky's swordsmen said. Ky nodded, alongside Sol.

"Understood. Thank you," Ky replied.

The airship was beginning to dock with the floating fortress, Zepp. It was an independent country teeming with life and harbored cities within. Sol and Ky's reasoning for arriving here was that there was a very important person of interest that they needed to address, to fight a very important Gear that the Conclave was going to bring about, by the name of Justice.

"This will give us a way to fight the Cradle, but we need to organize the information we have on hand, Sol," Ky said.

"The easiest way to do that is to squeeze some more info from the Valentines," Sol said, "and your interrogator seems to be doing the opposite of that. Just how long are we going to let her 'play house,' anyway?"

"Zepp has qualified interrogators. We'll turn Ramlethal over to them, and we can send Es on her way," Ky replied. "Although, I must thank her for keeping Ramlethal at bay. This gave us plenty of time to narrow down some information with Gabriel."

"…Whatever. We could have gotten the same results if you had just let me knock her out," Sol said under his breath. Ky still heard him nevertheless, sighing to accompany his disappointment.

Es had managed to hear the whole conversation from behind the door, and she frowned. Not because she they had caught onto her not getting any information from Ramlethal, but that Sol and Ky were going to relinquish her to Zepp's control. Just when she thought she could make Ramlethal realize her emotions. Despite this, she knocked on the door.

"Ah, Es, come on in," Ky said. Es entered the room shortly after. Sol stared down at her.

"It is to my understanding that I am to accompany you to Zepp, is that correct?" Es asked.

"Well, small change of plans, now that you're here," Ky said. "We'll need you to be here in the ship to guard Ramlethal for the time being. Any further information you can get from her for the time being is helpful, but we have plans of turning her over to Zepp."

"…So, you're turning Ramlethal over to Zepp's interrogators?" Es asked.

"That ain't gonna be a problem, is it?" Sol asked, straightforward. "Or do you still need to pump her full of sweets?" Es paused for a moment, but shook her head.

"Not at all. I will keep Ramlethal safe until you return to collect her," Es said. Ky nodded.

"Sol, you really have to work on your attitude towards others," Ky said to Sol. "Es has been nothing but helpful to us, after all."

"Yeah, yeah. Gimme a break." Sol replied, cracking his neck.

Ky and Sol left the room, heading to the exit of the ship. Es broke away from them, heading into Ramlethal's room.

"It's me," Es said, announcing herself before entering the room. Ramlethal sat in the chair, and appeared to be sleeping. The magehound was resting in her lap, with her finger in its mouth.

"…You're early," Ramlethal said, shaking herself from her short-lived slumber. She looked at Es, who didn't bother to grab her chair like normal. Es looked away from Ramlethal, who was too busy looking out the window anyway. However, instead of seeing clouds or the sky, she could just see metal walls. "Are we…inside Zepp?" Ramlethal asked. Es simply nodded. She held her own left arm nervously.

"Yes. We have arrived at Zepp, Mr. Kiske and Mr. Badguy have left to meet with their client. I'm here as they have asked me to keep an eye on you, and…"

"…You seem forlorn," Ramlethal asked. Es looked at her with a surprised face. "Is there something wrong?"

"Ramlethal…" Es said with a shaky voice. "No, nothing's wrong." Es approached Ramlethal slowly. "Listen, Ramlethal, we've got to go—"

Suddenly, from above, something had breached the hull of the ship, crashing through the roof right where they were. Right behind Es was a giant frame that looked like a bed, and there was a young man in it, wearing glasses. He appeared to be fast asleep, but apparently, there was a wicked smile on his face. Furthermore, the frame itself had appendages; two spiked arms and a strange looking head with eerie eyes.

"Bedman…!" Ramlethal gasped.

Instantly, Es revealed her weapon—a sealing blade labelled Murakumo—and stood in front of Ramlethal to protect her. With a swift strike, however, the strange bed frame attacked her and knocked her through the window. She was quick to block the blow so that she wouldn't suffer major damage, and was able to dismount on the docking bay. However, Ramlethal was still in the ship, but before she could make any advances, the bed frame took Ramlethal hostage, as she clutched the magehound.

"R-Ramlethal…!" Es exclaimed. The bed frame jumped off of the ship with Ramlethal in tow, facing Es menacingly. Es held her sword in an attacking stance, and was trying to calculate her next attack, as to not harm Ramlethal. However, the magehound wormed itself out of Ramlethal's grasp, and attacked the legs of the frame with a not-so-powerful—but very cute—bite attack. This attack, however, did not faze the frame, as it simply swatted the dog away, and it yelped as it slid along the ground.

"…Huh?" Ramlethal said, looking at the dog with wide, fearful eyes. It appeared to be unconscious, slowly fading away into the air.

This indicated the magehound's death.

Ramlethal teared up for just a moment, flashing an angry look at Bedman directly, which was enough to distract him as Es quickly slashed his right arm. While she couldn't make a dent in his armor, she was able to get him to relinquish his grasp on Ramlethal, who landed on the ground with both feet.

Turning around, she could see Es struggling with Bedman. She was quick to block his oncoming attacks, but she couldn't retaliate with her own. He was attacking using a weird method; it was as if he was warping around, attacking where she could least expect it. In an attempt to catch her fully off guard, Bedman used a clone to attack her, attacking from above as the real one attacked her head on. Es could block the overhead blow, but Bedman's blow with his spiked fist broke through her guard and knocked her off of her feet. She was quick to regain her footing, but before Bedman could attack again…

"That's enough!" Ramlethal said, standing in front of Es. This caused Bedman to stop in his tracks, and he shot Ramlethal a look of annoyance. "It's me he wants, Es. That much is certain." Es grunted, holding her sword up.

"But why?" Es asked. "Why does he want to take you away?" Ramlethal looked back at Es, then down at the ground.

"…I can't answer that question," Ramlethal replied, turning back to Bedman. "Spare her and take me instead. I won't let you have her!"

Bedman tensed up for a moment. His face seemed to actually be more worried than satisfied with his free opportunity.

"How!?" He thought to himself. "This girl has obtained emotions of her own… Could the Divine Will have been wrong about her…? I can't possibly kill a girl like this!" He backed away from Ramlethal, who narrowed her eyes at him. Es lessened her grip on her weapon, and at that same moment, Ky and company showed up to help clear the disturbance.

"Hold it right there!" Sin shouted from behind his father.

"Damn! Time to go!" Bedman thought. Using his frame as a warp device, Bedman left the scene immediately, leaving no trace nor idea as to where he could have gone. By the time that Sol, Ky and everybody else had made it to the two, they were too late to stop him.

"You've gotta be shitting me," Sol said. "You mean to tell me you two couldn't handle that guy?" Es was silent, but she dropped to her knees, and she dropped her blade with her. Ramlethal turned around quickly as Es appeared to be in pain.

"Es…!" Ramlethal exclaimed. Es was holding her right shoulder, which was penetrated by Bedman's spiky blow. She was losing a considerable amount of blood. Es didn't seem too bothered by it herself, yet her body said otherwise.

"Ramlethal… They're taking you with them to Zepp," Es said. "My interrogation with you is over, and…they'll take it from there, okay?" Ramlethal frowned. A tear dropped from her eye as she hugged Es tightly, even despite the wound.

"Es… You're in critical state. Don't worry about me, you need help…" Ramlethal sobbed. With her only good arm, Es hugged her back.

"Hey, old man," Sin whispered, "Ramlethal's crying."

"And? You make it sound like I give a damn... touchy-feely bullshit," Sol replied, totally ignoring the fact that he was supposed to be whispering.

"Sin, you're right," Elphelt said, popping up on the other side of Sol, who freaked him out. "Ram's been virtually emotionless up until now, and yet, here she is hugging Es… I feel like her methods of interrogation actually worked!"

"Oh yeah?" Sol said. "Well if you believe that it worked, then what the hell are the Valentines planning, huh?" Elphelt put a finger on her chin, looking up at the air as she was deep in thought. Sol shook his head. "I rest my case," he muttered.

"We have injured. Send a medic as quickly as you can," Ky said over his magic comms. "And as well, please send some Opus Swordsmen as well to collect Ramlethal."

"Understood. They will be rendezvousing to you shortly." Speaking to him over the comms was Gabriel, President of Zepp. The call briefly cut out after his remark.

Some time passed before both the medical units and soldiers arrived. They took care when loading Es onto a gurney, and Ramlethal watched with a somber, lonely face. The Opus Swordsmen apprehended her, and she showed no restraint towards them.

"Don't worry, Ram." Es smiled at her. "I'll be alright. Mr. Kiske gave me his word that no harm would come to you, neither in his care, nor Zepp's."

"Es… I never did properly thank you for the conversations we've shared," Ramlethal said, tearing up slightly again. "Just promise me… Promise me that we'll talk again." Es nodded before laying her head back in the gurney.

"I promise, Ramlethal. When I come back, we're going to eat pudding together again..." she said with a chuckle. Ramlethal couldn't help it but smile, despite her tears.

"Shall we, Ramlethal?" Ky said, catching her attention. Ramlethal nodded to Ky, and she was promptly taken away by the Opus Swordsmen towards the direction of Central Zepp. She turned around once to face Es, as they treated her wounds, and smiled again before facing forward one more time.

"Yes," she said under her breath. "We shall."


End file.
